In his groundbreaking new book Daniel Everett seeks answers to questions that have perplexed
thinkers from Plato to Chomsky: when and how did language begin? What is it? And what is it
for?Daniel Everett confounds the conventional wisdom that language originated with Homo sapiens
150 000 years ago and that we have a 'language instinct'. Drawing on evidence from a wide range
of fields including linguistics archaeology biology anthropology and neuroscience he shows
that our ancient ancestors Homo erectus had the biological and mental equipment for speech
one and half million years ago and that their cultural and technological achievements
(including building ocean-going boats) make it overwhelmingly likely they spoke some kind of
language.How Language Began sheds new light on language and culture and what it means to be
human and as always Daniel Everett spices his account with incident and anecdote. His book is
convincing arresting and entertaining.
